Alarm for refrigerator-pans.



E. PETTERSON.

ALARM FOR REFRIGERATOR PANS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 20. I915.

1,1 91,221 Patented July 18, 1916.

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ALARM FOR REFRIGERATOR PANS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 20. 1915.

1 1 9 l ,22 1 Patentedfluly 18, 1916.

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ERNST PETTERSON, OF ASTORIA, NEW YORK.

ALARM FOB REFRIGERATOR-FANS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

I Patented July 18, 1916.

Application filed April 20, 1915. Serial No. 22,722.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNST PETTERSON, a subject of the King'of Sweden, residing at Astoria, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Alarms for Befrigerator-Pans, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to alarms especially designed for attachment to refrigerator pans for giving an audible signal when the level of the water in the pan approaches the top thereof.

One object is to improve the means for releasing the escapement which controls the bell clapper, in order to makethe operation of the alarm more certain and reliable.

Another object is to provide improved operative connection between the float and the escapement releasing device, whereby the actuation of said device may be more easily effected.

Other objects will appear as the description proceeds.

The invention will be first hereinafter described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference characters are used to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and then more particularly defined in the claims at the end of the description.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a sectional view of the pan showing the alarm in elevation. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig.- 3 is a section on the line III-III of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section on the line IVIV of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the bell or gong. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the-gravity dog and vertically movabl rack bar which engages the same for releasing the escapement. Fig. 7 is a detailed front view of the pivoted plate which carries the escape ment locking means, and Fig. 8 is a section on the line VIIIVIII of Fig. 3.

In Figs. 1 and 2, 1 designates a refrigerator pan or other container, 2 the casing forthe alarm mechanism, and 3 the float.

The casing 2 is fastened to the outside of the pan in any suitable manner and a bracket 1 is secured to its upper end and hangs over the rim of the pan to provide a rigid pivotal support for the lever 5 carrying the float 3. Said lever is pivoted at 6 to the overhanging portion of the bracket 4, and carries a segmental rack 7 on its end opposite that to which the float is attached. The segmental rack 7 meshes with a vertical rack 8 forming a part of an inverted U-shaped member 9, the other leg 10 of which is arranged parallel to the, rack bar 8 and extends down into the casing 2. It will thus be seen that the member 9 straddles the rim of the pan. The bracket 4 is provided with spaced par allel arms 11, Fig. 2, between which the racks 7 and 8 are guided, the rack 8 together with the other parts of the member 9 being vertically movable under the influence of the rack 7 as the float rises or falls.

The inner lower end of the part 10 of the member 9 is provided with ratchet teeth 12, the upper face of each tooth being horizontal. These ratchet teeth engage a tooth 13 on the gravity dog 14 arranged in a downwardly inclined pocket 15 on the outer face of a pivoted plate-16, the tooth 13 projecting through an opening or slot 17 in said plate into engagement with the ratchet teeth 12 on the part 10. The upper face of the tooth 13 is inclined, so that when the member 9 is moved downwardly, which occurs when the float 3 rises, the inclined lower faces of the teeth 12 will ride over the inclined upper face of the tooth 13 and move the pivoted plate 16 away from the part 10 for releasing the escapement as will be presently described. The lower face of the tooth 13 is substantially horizontal, so that when the member 9 is raised for resetting the alarm, the horizontal upper faces of the teeth 12 coming in contact with the lower horizontal face of said tooth 13, will simply raise the dog 14 in its inclined pocket 15 until the tooth 13 is withdrawn from the path of the teeth 12, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 6. The part 10 of the member 9 is guided in loops or straps 18 on the inside of the casing 2, whereby said part is held to a true vertical reciprocating movement. 7

The plate 16 is pivoted upon laterally projecting and slightly depressed lugs 19 which bear upon the inner wall 20 of the casing 2. Said plate is normally held in an inclined position with respect to said wall 20, as illustrated in Fig. 8, by a leaf spring 21 overlapping the shorter arm of the lever or plate. The longer arm of said lever carries a lug 22 projecting from its inner face into the path of an extension 23 of the clapper 24: which is mounted on the escapement 25. The shaft 26 carrying the main spring of a clock movement, passes loosely through an open ng '27 in the plate or lever 16 and serves to support the same in proper position. Said shaft carries a gear 28 in addition to the main spring 29, said-gear meshing with another gear 30 on a shaft 31 carrying the escapement wheel 32. The shaft 26 also carries a disk 33 having a notch 34 in its inner face near its periphery, said notch being normally engaged by a lug 35 projecting from the inner face of the plate or lever 16. The notch 34 and lug constitute the main stop means for. the alarm, while the lug 22, which extends into the path of the extension 23 on the clapper, serves as an additional or secondary stop. The secondary stop 22 may be omitted, as the main stop 35 is capable of doing the work alone. The shaft 26 projects beyond the casing for engagement with a suitable key 36 which may be in the form of a crank, as illustrated in Fig. 4.

The normal position of the plate 16 is shown in Fig. 8, with the lug 22 engaging the extension 23 of the clapper as shown in Fig. 3, and the lug 35 engaging the notch 34 in the disk 33. When the parts are in this position, the clock movement is locked by the lug 35 and the clapper and escapement by the lug 22. Now, when the member 9 is moved downwardly by the rack 7 engaging the rack 8 as the float rises due to the rise of the level of the water in the pan, the ratchet teeth 12 on the downwardly moving part 10 will come in contact with the tooth 13 on the dog 14 and depress the end of the plate 16 carrying the lugs 22 and 35, moving said lugs from engagement with the projection .23 of the clapper, and the notch 34 in the disk 33, respectively. As soon as the clapper and clock movement are simultaneously released in this way, the spring 29 will act through the gears 28 and 30 and escapement wheel 32 to operate the escapement 25 and cause the clapper 24 to vibrate against the gong 37 which may be in the form of a frame as illustrated in Fig. 5. The clock movement will continue to operate the clapper until the part 10 is raised after emptying the pan, or the clock movement has run down. When the part 10 is raised and the notch 34 has returned to a position in line with the lug 35, the plate 16 will be returned to normal position by the spring 21.

In resetting the alarm after the pan has been emptied, the member 9 will be raised and the teeth 12 on the part 10 of said member will pass the tooth 13 on the dog 14 as already explained without moving the plate or lever 16 out of normal position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1* 1. The combination with a clock movement including an escapement and a clapper carried thereby, of a spring pressed lever having means for locking the clock movement when the lever is in normal position, a gravity pawl carried by said lever and having an inclined path of movement, and a reciprocating member having a series of ratchet teeth adapted to engage the pawl and move the lever for releasing the clock movement when said reciprocating member is moved in one directionand for moving the pawl independently of the lever when said reciprocating member is moved in the opposite direction.

2. The combination with a clock movement including a clapper, of a lever having means for locking the clock movement when in normal position, said lever having an in clined pocket with a slot in its vertical wall, a gravity pawl arranged in said pocket and having a tooth extending through said slot, and a reciprocating member having ratchet teeth adapted to engage the tooth on the pawl for moving the lever to release the clock movement when the reciprocating member is moved in one direction and for moving the pawl independently of the lever when said reciprocating member is moved in the opposite direction.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ERNST PETTERSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

